Cigarette package holder



y 6, 1950 E. w. SCHWEIKERT 2,508,299

CIGARETTE PACKAGE HOLDER Filed 001:. 1, 1947 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 16, 1950 .cmm PATENT -oi=..-i=icr.

CIGARETTE PACKAGE HOLDER Edward W. Schweikert, New York, N. Y. Application October 1, 1947, Serial No. 777,209

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to holders or binders for cigarette packages, and is particularly provided for packages carried individually in the pocket after one or more cigarettes have been removed from the package.

With the use of soft paper packages for cigarettes, as is the custom, the space left in the package after some of the cigarettes have been removed, leaves the package unsightl and the opening is free so that one or more of the remaining cigarettes may easily fall out. Furthermore, the wide opening giving access of air to the remaining cigarettes permits rapid drying out of the latter. The present invention aims to overcome these inconveniences.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which characters of reference refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device applied to a full cigarette package.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same after a. number of cigarettes have been removed.

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the device per se in contracted condition prior to its application to a package.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the device per se in elongated condition prior to its application to a package.

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of the device.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral it! indicates a cigarette package and the numeral II the holder or binder. The latter comprises a band of spring steel bent at one end into an angle slightly greater than a. right angle to provide the base l2 and the end section I 3. At the end of the section I3 the band is bent at a right angle to provide a slightly curved side section I4. The remaining portion of the band is coiled to provide the coiled spring I5. The length of the band between the point I6, at the base of the side section I4, and the extremity of the coiled spring I5, tapers gradually from a thickness of eight one-thousandths of an inch at the point I6 to a thickness of five one-thousandths of an inch; these dimensions, however, may be varied, but it is essential that the band taper in the direction indicated.

The device is made by first bendin a flat band of untempered spring steel in the manner indicated and then tempering the same, after which 2 it assumes the form indicated; that is the sections I2, I3, I4, and I5, with the latter tending to roll up because of its coiled spring tempering. The device of Fig. 4 is applied to a cigarette package by first unrolling th coil I5, at which time the device resembles the illustration in Fig. 5. It is then slipped down the package to the position shown in Fig. 1. When a few cigarettes have been removed through the opening which has been torn in one end of the package, and the package surrounding the void thus created is soft and yieldable, the tip I5a of the band will automatically crush that soft portion of the package and roll it up. When a substantial number of cigarettes are removed the package and band will resemble the illustration in Fig. 3. It is thus obvious that the device tends to approximately seal the package to reduce the amount of exposure to the air of the remaining cigarettes, and at the same time keeps the package compact at all times and prevents the dropping out of cigarettes.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of the invention, wherein corresponding parts are similarly numbered to the parts in the other figures, with the addition of the suffix a with the exception of I52), which corresponds to the numeral I5, and I50, which corresponds to numeral I5a in Figs. 3 and 5. The member Ila is similarly conformed to member I I, but comprises a tapered wire instead of the tapered band I I.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In combination with a package having the form of a right-angled parallelopiped, a device comprising a substantially right-angle-shaped member mounted on the package with one arm of said member engaging one side of the package and the other arm of the member engaging the adjacent side of the package, the last-named arm of said member having a length at least equal to the length of said adjacent side of the package and having a normally coiled spring extending from the free extremity thereof, the base of said spring extending at substantially right angles from said extremity of said last-named arm and substantially parallel with and in the direction of said first-named arm, said spring being coiled in a direction out of the plane of its base toward the plane of said first-named arm thereby positioning the spring between the planes of said base and said first-named arm, the length of said spring being not less thanthe length of said one side of the package and not more than one-half the peripheral girth of said package measured on a. plane through said member at right angles to the planes of said arms, said spring engaging that side of said package which is adjacent said adjacent side of the package and parallel with said 5 first-named side of the package, said spring being unwound prior to application of the device to the package.

EDWARD W. SCHWEIKERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 793,332 Walker June 27, 1905 2,010,783 Florman Aug. 6, 1935 2,418,526 Reitman Apr. 8, 1947 2,431,752 Hilstrom Dec. 2, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS m Number Country Date 54,302 Norway Aug. 20, 1934 

